New Exhibition to Create Empathy, Fight Violence

A new exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery intends to focus attention on violence experienced by women world-wide.

Off the Beaten Path: Violence, Women and Art, features the work of 30 international artists and is curated by Randy Rosenberg, executive director and chief curator of Art Works for Change, an organization aiming to harness the transformative power of art to promote awareness, provoke dialogue, and inspire action.

“Off the Beaten Path shows that art can be a powerful medium to bring new perspectives and understanding to audiences, thereby assisting in fostering important social change,” said Stephen Borys, director & CEO of the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

The exhibition features artwork by Yoko Ono, Marina Abramovic, Mona Hatoum and Wangechi Mutu, and others, with the goal of helping audiences understand the complex issues that create gender-based violence. A variety of mediums will be showcased, including painting, photography, sculpture, multi-media, video, and installation works.

“Off the Beaten Path touches on a social issue — violence against women — that unfortunately is prevalent in Canada,” said chief curator Helen Delacretaz. “It affects us all globally. Our exhibitions committee felt strongly that this was a show we wanted to see here in Winnipeg, to foster dialogue, to bring attention to an important issue, and, hopefully, to enact social change.”

Manitoba, along with Saskatchewan, consistently has the highest recorded rates of violence against women. In 2011, that rate was about double the national rate.